Équipage (Hermes)

By Thomas

Lost among the Birkin bags and silk scarves there is a small harness-maker named Thierry Hermes. Thierry started the family firm, centering the business around horses. Yes – that’s right – horses. After a generation or so of bridles, harnesses, and carriage-fittings, they started making top-quality saddles and marketing them to European nobility. Again…horses.

If you look at enough Hermes scarves and ties, you’ll see a recurring equestrian motif. Hermes does just enough to remind everyone that horses play an important role in the firm’s history. If, however, you remain skeptical that Hermes = horses, just take a whiff of Equipage.

That will remind you.

Equipage is dated firmly in the 70’s but fortunately it’s early 70’s, before the Hair generation started letting it all hang out. Hermes strikes a balance between the upper-class European nobility and the horsey…horseness of…horses.

Does this sound appealing? I hear you saying “neigh” but just take a moment to consider the seductive nature of opposites: Equipage opens gently: lemon, basil, lily/iris, maybe a smidge of clove. Nothing alarming here, a gentle and reassuring stroking of the olfactory senses. A calm, placid, old-school opening.

Eventually the pace picks up with a bit of earthiness, sawdust, and a bit of hay. Very mild florals, carnation perhaps, lingering around but they’re not to be around much longer. In 90 minutes time, I’m struck by a mild leather with a touch of brassiness, as though I was holding a saddle. Too bad this doesn’t stick around long.

Three hours into it, it’s become a bit soapy/herbal (vetiver and thyme) and mildly horsey, with bits of clove clinging around. Yes, yes, I know, put these ingredients into a blender, and no one in their right mind would wear this, but the key here is balance. Equipage is well-balanced, fairly discreet, and worth a ride, from the slightly snoozy opening to the gentle trot at the end.

Year: 1970
Perfumer: Guy Robert
Notes: Rosewood, Bergamot, Lily of the Valley, Carnation, Jasmine, Pine, Tonka, Vetiver, Patchouli

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